Hopes for a Patriot League championship are all but mathematically gone.

Visions of an FCS playoff appearance are long out of view.

Even the possibility of a winning record has vanished.

For the first time since 2009, Lehigh enters the stretch run of a season with only pride for the seniors and finding building blocks among the underclassmen at stake, at least until Nov. 22 and the special 150th meeting with Lafayette at Yankee Stadium.

Saturday's 48-27 loss to No. 12-ranked Fordham was the latest disappointment in a season filled with them for the Mountain Hawks, who are now 1-6 overall, 0-2 in the Patriot League.

Road games at Georgetown and Holy Cross follow with one last home date against Colgate on Nov. 15 before the big one in the Bronx.

Yet as the sun set on South Mountain early Saturday night after a gorgeous October day, it was not all gloom and doom for a program that's obviously in a retooling phase after a 39-9 four-year run.

Lehigh features several young players who are making an impact and will use November as an opportunity to get better.

Among them are freshman wide receiver Troy Pelletier, who is second on the team in receptions with 22 catches for 300 yards and four touchdowns. He has now taken over the "X" receiver position, the marquee spot in the offense where Ryan Spadola and Lee Kurfis flourished.

And there's flashy kick returner Sasha Kelsey, another freshman who returned eight kickoffs for 164 yards against Fordham.

While he didn't get a carry against Fordham, freshman tailback Chris Leigh has shown potential with five yards per carry in 23 attempts.

Sophomores Evan Sweeney, Micah Tennant and Zach Duffy are all getting time on the offensive line. Sophomore linebackers Colton Caslow and Pierce Ripanti as well as defensive end T.J. Stubbs are making an impact on the other side of the ball. Freshman Tyler Cavenas, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound freshman from Mahanoy Area, had two tackles on Saturday.

Then, of course, you have sophomore quarterback Nick Shafnisky and placekicker Ryan Pandy, among many others, who will be key players in the future.

Seeing the younger players develop will be one of the things to watch in the season's last month, but don't get the idea that it's all about getting ready for 2015 the rest of the way.

Lehigh needs to start winning games again to change the atmosphere and reverse the downward spiral that seemed to begin with that 50-28 home loss to Lafayette last November.

It was Eagles coach Chip Kelly who was caught by NFL Films saying during the rout of the Giants two weeks ago: "Culture will beat scheme every time."

Lehigh needs to get that winning culture back and there's no time like the present. The outgoing seniors can certainly lend a hand in doing that and senior wide receiver Josh Parris has let his teammates know that there's still plenty to play for.

"At the end of the game, I addressed the team and told them that we had a decision to make," the Palisades High product said. "We can either pack it in or we can play with pride. We need to play because we love this game and we need to keep working hard and do the things we need to do."

Parris, who had the biggest game of his career Saturday with eight catches for 83 yards, including an outstanding 32-yard TD reception, will treasure everything that's left.

"This game has been a blessing to me," he said. "I love playing football. I am not ready to give it up yet. We have four games left and I want to make the most of every opportunity. I want to try to continue to progress. There are things that need to be worked on. We need to do what we can to put ourselves in position to get some wins."

Parris said he's the biggest cheerleader of the younger guys when they do things the right way and will serve as a mentor to them as he winds down his Lehigh career while others have two and three more seasons remaining.

"I take the role of being a leader on whole-heartedly," he said. "I can be the biggest cheerleader, but also their biggest critic because I want them to be the best that they can be. I want to help put them in position where they can succeed and be great."

Lehigh coach Andy Coen knows that things can turn around in a hurry.

"I'm very disappointed how this season turned out and had we found a way to win the James Madison game or the Yale game, we'd be looking at different things here," he said. "But sometimes you're down and the next year you bounce back up. One year [2009] we were 4-7 and the next year we were 10-2.

"No one wants to go through a season like we're going through. It's tough on the kids and the coaches, but it is a maturation process you sometimes have to go through and that's the reality of it."